The Chase of Buffy Summers, S2
by Torendor
Summary: The second season of "The Chase of Buffy Summers". /s/11237338/1/The-Chase-of-Buffy-Summers Cordelia spins everyone around her finger but the one person she wants to. School life has drastically changed with the appearance of a very .. different .. kind of show. Willow's magic becomes more and more powerfull. A certain timid blond appears on the scene.
1. The Show

**Prelude**

Despite Cordelia's prediction not a lot had changed, at least for Buffy that is. Everything else pretty much had. Queen C was back in action but people no longer feared or despised her, instead more than half the school seemed to look up at to for being so .. different, eccentric and proud. That seemed to be the key theme here, the mere fact that it was Cordelia who did all this and not anyone else. No one could have pulled this of, except for her. She showed up in those outfits and acted like a real queen with a court and all without anyone batting an eyelash. It was a show, a grandiose show, everyone talked about it some even started to participate. Like an open play where actors came and went school life had been turned around. It was a masterpiece of her design and Buffy was amazed it had turned out this way.

That day she left the mansion she felt like she was going to lead Cordelia to the slaughter house on her first day of school. Not because she was going to insult her or anything like that but because she knew Cordelia would no longer hide who she was, and Buffy would distance herself from her to protect the secrets of her life. She had cried bitter tears for the coming betrayal and the Brunette had calmed her down, telling her it was ok to do it. She knew Buffy had to.

But it did not turn out that way.. Cordelia had spun them all around, instead of her being the freak that felt ashamed she was the glorious freak everyone envied for her audacity. She made a game out of it, were the tables were turned.

Instead of feeling excited about this and opening up, maybe even join the macabre spectacle Buffy had kept away, feeling ashamed and horrible about what she as a person was capable of doing to someone that had done so much for her.

* * *

 **The Cafeteria**

"Oh look at her, she's so cute.. like a lost puppy looking for their master." Xander pointed out looking over to the spot Cordelia normally held her lunch.

"You should not make fun of her, it takes a lot of courage to do what she does." Willow replied and looked over at Daria, the girl in question. "I mean would you crawl around on all fours around Cordelia's feet like she does?"

"If I get to make out with her after.. sure why not?" Xander answered flat out and immediately stopped. "Y-you think those two are making out? Damn!"

"It's just a show!" Buffy exclaimed, getting angrier by the second.

"That's one show I would buy tickets for that's for certain." Xander mumbled. **POW**

Willow rubbed her knuckles. "It is not a show, I keep telling you guys but you won't listen. You are just like Cordelia and Harmony were before Cordys accident, badmouthing people behind their backs. You should really stop that, especially you Xander."

"Hey I'm nothing like they were back then, I don't think they would have called me cute, or compared me to a puppy. Name-calling is Buffy's thing, she came up with Daria's nickname after all." Xander added as a further excuse before he looked back to the main attraction of the cafeteria.

Slamming down her fork, Buffy started to gather up her stuff. "I said I'm sorry a thousand times already, it just slipped out, Jesus!" And with that she stomped off.

"See what you did there Willow, you made her all cranky, poor Buffster."

"It's not my fault she is acting like a 10-year-old." Willow grumbled.

"Well .. yeah.. anyway have you ever noticed how Daria looked kinda like.." **POW** "Hey!"

* * *

After returning her tablet Buffy collected herself in a quieter part of the cafeteria, she had been on edge lately and it started to show. 'Way to go Buffy, keep alienating the only two friends you have.' Running a hand through her hair she looked over at the elevated throne look-alike where Cordelia usually held court. 'She is a skank tho.. I mean just look at her. Xander was right when he compared her to a puppy and Willow was right as well.. it's no show, she really feels lost without Cordelia, and to top it all off she is doing that in public! Right here!' Buffy was fuming, about the skank, about her choices, about the lack of courage and her need to be normal, and accepted as such.

"I did this all for you .. you know this right?" Came a soft voice from behind and Buffy cursed as she turned around, stunned to see Cordelia in front of her. "Hey there, remember me Buffy?" She said with a sad voice, hidden in the Shadows to avoid any attraction.

"H-hey.." Was all Buffy could get out, she hadn't talked with the other girl for month, ever since they both started school again and that added to her list of guilt and shame, she should have at least tried to talk with her. Averting her eyes she was having a hard time coming up with anything to say before realizing that she had been asked a question. "Um.. what?"

"I said I did all of this this for you, you know this right?" Cordelia repeated. "But you blew it. Why? No one would even blink if you came out now, do you understand what I did here? Do you realize how amazing this is?" Cordelia tried her best to remain calm. "No wait don't answer, I didn't come here to do this.. i wanted to talk about Willow."

"W-willow? What about her?" Buffy asked, glad about the change of topic.

"She is starting to dabble in some very serious magic and I was wondering if that was slayer related. She claimed it was but .. she has been acting weird lately and I wanted to check with you if she is telling the truth." Cordelia said in a worried tone. "I tried Giles but he .. kind of threw me out being the stuck up brit that he is."

"S-she is not helping me out with anything, hasn't been for quite a while now... he threw you out?" Buffy blinked at that, he had not told her about this. "Why?"

Cordelia made a downward wave with both hands to encompass her whole frame. "Why do you think?"

"W-what? No way, he would n-never.. I mean.. really?" Buffy could not believe Giles would do something like that, she knew about his past as the ripper so she assumed he would be a lot more liberal than he appeared to be.

"You could simply ask him but be careful when you do, things would get really awkward if he found out about you. Ugh.. and before you misunderstand me yet again, no that was not me 'blackmailing' you, just like I never had, I'm simply looking out for you."

"Why?" Came the timid reply from Buffy.

"That's what friends do right?" Cordelia started to turn around. "It would be nice if we could meet up and talk again sometime.. preferably without such a long wait in between alright? And keep an eye on Willow please, lying about the dark arts is never a good sign is it?"

* * *

Strolling back to her throne Cordelia thought back to her time with Buffy at the mansion. Quickly shaking her head she dismissed the feelings that started to whirl up in her. 'Get a grip Cordy, you have to be the adult here. She will come around eventually.'

"Hey where did you run off too in such a hurry?" Daria asked as she slung her arms around Cordelia's waist. "I had to talk with a friend that's a bit .. unaccustomed to *she gestured towards the throne* this."

"Some friend .. why do you hang out with someone like that?" The blonde inquired and Cordelia felt thrown back in time looking at the image of Harmony talking about one of their victims.' "Nothing really changes does it?" Cordelia sighed, untangled herself from Daria and sat down to eat her lunch. _'She is almost the opposite of Harm but in a way she is just the same, it makes me sick. I should drop this whole charade, what's the point? ... ... The point is I'm doing something great, I made a lot of people around here more accepting and open about what they think and how they feel. I'm just grumpy because of Buffy.'_ Staring at the corner she had left Buffy in she was surprised to find out that she had never left. The slayer had huddled in the shadowy corner and kept an eye on her. _'So here we are, right where we started and yet somewhere totally different. Me in the light of attention you in the dark shadows of doubt.'_

* * *

 **The Library**

"Giles?! Giles where are you?" Buffy almost yelled as she marched through the library. "I'm right here Buffy, no need to yell, what can I help you with, I got this lovely.." He stopped midsentence when he realized how upset the girl was, her makeup was all messed up and tears were streaming down her face. Moving towards her to calm the poor girl down he noticed her hands clenching and unclenching and the piercing stare that was directed at him.

"B-Buffy? What is the matter?"

"That's what i'd like to know, how could you!" She strode right at him, pushing him against the nearest bookshelf. "H-how could you do that? How c-could could ..you.." She kept repeating and Giles was no longer sure if she was even talking to him any more. "H-how could you.. do that.." He did not know what was going on but his ward seemed clearly in need of some comfort so he tried to calm her down. He tried to do so very slowly and gently, fearing that she might lash out at him. Buffy kept crying and fell into his arms. "I'm so sorry.. I-i'm so sorry..."


	2. Slayer unleashed

**The Library**

"In the end I brought her here so she could calm down and she fell asleep." Giles looked over to Willow as he whispered. "She was very upset and quite frankly I do not know what I could have done to provoke such an outburst."

"She was kind of cranky earlier, maybe it has nothing to with you at all, but let's find out shall we?" A little bit too eager Willow started to pull out a multitude of items from her knapsack.

"What do you think you are doing there young lady?" Giles asked, clearly confused about Willows behavior.

"Oh I stumbled upon this divination spell a while ago, just give me a second and I can tell you what's bothering her."

"Y-you .. what?!" Giles voice had risen a bit too loud and Buffy mumbled something in her sleep. Forcing himself to calm down a bit he leaned down towards Willow who kept preparing a difficult looking spell. "You bloody hell ain't!" He whisperscreamed at the redhead.

"Calm down Giles.. I was kidding, I'm preparing a simple relaxation spell." Willow replied and made a slight alteration here and another over there. The Englishman was amazed, if not a little worried, about the speed at which Willow had learned the magic arts these last couple of month. He could no longer keep up with Willow's preparations and gave up with a sigh. "T-that is no laughing matter, I'll have you know that I have dabbled in the dark arts myself when I was younger and it did no turn out well. A-and mindcontrol is as dark as it get's."

"It's not really mind control, just .. a light nudge." Willow smirked a bit at that. "If I made her dance hava nagila that would be mind control." Her smirk turned into a grin as she imagined Buffy dancing arm in arm with Xander while spinning about. Her face froze as she glanced at the watcher however, mumbling something she went back to work with a somber face.

"There is no need for that either! Willow stop it this instance. S-she is not some bear that needs to be calmed down or anything, just stay here please and have a talk with her when she wakes up. I have to hurry along to the principal." Without a further word Giles grabbed his satchel and headed for the exit.

The door of Giles office swung back and snapped shut with a click. Willow stared at the lock for a second, there was a flicker of light and another clicked echoed through the narrow office as the lock turned, making sure she was not disturbed.

"Now.. where was I?"

* * *

Darkness flowed around her and a sharp wind whipped her blond hair around. Willow gasped as she fell with alarming speed, from nothing into nothing. 'I did it!' She felt elated, this spell should have been far beyond her reach but she managed to pull it off. _'Hopefully the payback will be manageable.'_

"Willlllloooww?" Came a low sluggish voice from the insides of her falling form. "Willllow? NO! NO NO NO!" The voice coalesced into Buffy's and she started to scream out of Willow's mouth in full force.

Willow looked down in shock as her own hands started to choke her, spikes teared through the skin of her arms and fingernails turned into claws. "NOOOO!" Something primal screamed out of her face.

There was a snap and her head lolled about, her eyes tumbled and she saw fragments of the past whirling by in the tumbling descent into darkness. In accord with the snap came the image of Cordelia, forearms firmly grabbed by Willow's hands. A muffled scream echoed into nothingness and two clawed hand grabbed her head. "NOOOOOOO!"

Pressure was building on either side of her skull and Willow screamed in unison with the beast as she tried to break the spell that had brought her here. "YOU SHALL NOT SEEEEE!" Giant claws kept crushing her head and two scaly thumbs loomed ever closer to her eyes.

"NOOOoooOoooo!" Willow's voice cracked, broke and slurred as her eyes flew open and she stared into an equally screaming Buffy. The light in the narrow office threw weird shadows at the wall and to Willow it seemed like she may have pulled more out of Buffy's mind then she bargained for.

"WHAT?! WH-what have YOU done to ME Willlllooow?!" The blond slurred with a voice not entirely her own as she lunged for the witches throat. Just before she could reach the witch, the slayer was thrown back as she hit an invisible barrier surrounding the redhead.

Willow's eyes turned black and a thin stream of dark blood started to pour out of them. The slayer kept pouncing on the barrier, teeth barred, drool dripping from her mouth, screaming all the while. The witch backed away from the beast and the office door, along with a large piece of wall on either side, crumpled in on itself as if a giant fist had closed around it.

"What the fuck?!" Cordelia yelled as she leaped away from the spot the door had stood only seconds before. She had heard the commotion and curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"NOOOOO!" The slayer roared and started at the brunette, temporarily ceasing the assault on the barrier that had formed a circle around the retreating redhead. "YOU! YOU SHALL NOT SEEEE!" In an instant Willow realized what was about to happen, she had seen it before, felt it before. She tried to lift her arm to intervene, but as yet another spell was starting to form she simply collapsed to the ground.

"Buffy?!" Her face was a mess of panic and confusion as Cordelia saw the slayer starting to stomp in her direction. She tried backing up but toppled over her own long dress, an instant later she lay on her back with Buffy's hands pressing against either the sides of her head.

 **THUD** There was a muted sound and then another. **THUD**. Something hit the slayer in the back and the blond looked around in confusion. **THUD** Turning her head back towards Cordelia Buffy mumbled something akin to "Noo.." before collapsing on top of the brunette.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Cordelia yelled, looking at the mess around her before staring up at Giles holding a modified tranquilizer rifle.

* * *

"Help me with her arm would you?!" Giles snapped as he tried to drag an unconscious Buffy back into the trashed office.

"The Hell Giles? What the fuck are you doing and What the .. what the .. what is going on?" She stammered as she tried to make sense of it all. The pool of blood forming under Willows face was not helping the matter. "She's bleeding! We have to get an ambulance! Where is the phone?" Cordelia started rummaging around the office but Giles firmly said otherwise. "No wait, we have to get Buffy inside the cage first, Willow s-should be alright, even that kind of magic would n-not kill her outright. It does not work that way, i-it's more complicated. So come on help me!"

"Cage?" Unsure of what to do but feeling she had to do something fast she simply trusted Giles judgement concerning matter like these and grabbed Buffy's other arm. Together they dragged her all the way in and Giles started to fiddle with a lock that had been hidden under a carpet. "Blast it!" He yanked at it and tried some more before finally getting it open. "Here, make some room, we have to hurry. NO! Wait, go and lock the main door! Hurry!"

Cordelia sprinted back the way she had come, slammed the door shut and flipped the open sign over. As she turned around she heard Willow groaning. Flashes of a black eyed Willow surrounded by some sort of freakish forcefield raced before her eyes and she made a lunge for the rifle, quickly leveling it at the redhead. **THUD**

"What was that? Ugh nevermind get in here, we have to get her down the ladder somehow." Looking down at the rifle, then over to Willow and back to Buffy again Cordelia slung the rifle around her shoulder before heading over to Giles to help him out.

It took them quite a while to get the slayer down the long ladder and into one of the four heavy iron cages in the corners of the small cave. "You stay here and keep an eye on Buffy, make sure to reload t-the gun, there should be darts in the desk over there." Hurrying up the ladder Giles vanished out of sight.

Cordelia checked the drawer with shacking hands as she heard another groan. "FUCK!" She fumbled with the rifle and turned around to face the slayer.

"Cordy? W-whats are you doing there? I-is that a gun? Why are you pointing a gun at me?!" Buffy started to get up, feeling somewhat groggy for some reason. "Is .. is this a cage? What's going on here?!"

Instantly dropping the rifle Cordelia ran over to Buffy. "I-i'm not sure, Willow must have casted a spell.. there was some seriously messed up stuff going on.. and you were attacking her and then you .. you .. dropped down because of that." She nodded towards the rifle on the ground.

"Noo!" Buffy started to moan and Cordelia flinched, about to make a leap for the rifle again. "Why would I do that?! What did she do to me?" Cordelia relaxed as she realized that this was not yet another outbreak of the slayer but simply Buffy trying to make sense of it all.

"A little help here!" Came a voice from above and Cordelia looked apologetically at Buffy. "I will be right back, we will figure this out, I promise!"

* * *

They managed to get Willow down and into another cage, she woke up shortly afterwards. Despite her trauma and blood loss she was able to stand up again. Giles had reloaded the rifle, put the spare ammunition smack in the middle of the desk to calm Cordelia down and now leaned against the wall near the ladder as if waiting for something. Cordelia stood close by and watched the scene unfold, it was chaos..

"Why did you try to cast a spell on me? What's wrong with you Willow?!" Buffy grabbed the iron bars of her cage.

"What's wrong with me? You tried to gauge my eyes out! What sane person does something like that?!"

"That wasn't ME! You did something to my head and drew the slayer out or something."

"T-technicly I never entered your head.. m-more like your .. soul?" As she said that Willow instantly calmed down and regretted having said that.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I HAD TO!" Her calmness instantly forgotten Willow started yelling again.

As the two went back and forth Giles head perked up, he excused himself and went up the ladder. Shortly afterwards he came back down with a tall timid blond in tow, who was thoroughly confused by the situation she was confronted with. Two girls, both in cages, were yelling at each other. The redhead had dried blood all over her face and wisps of light circled around her body. The blond in the other cage gripped the bars of her cage and they were starting to bend under her grip, her face was a mask of rage and disbelief.

"Tara? You best get to work right away, we do not have much time." Giles said in a normal tone of voice that almost did not reach the girl. "C-could you m-make them stop? Maybe?" She replied, feeling unsure she could do what she was supposed to do if the shouting match kept up. Cordelia took this as her cue. She went over to the desk, took the rifle, turned back around and faced Willows cage.

Willow was in the midst of explaining how one would go about to remove a piece of footwear out of another person's rectum as a **THUD** echoed through the cave.

"There you go, is it ok if I shoot her again for good measure?" She directed this question at Giles, who in turn was not sure if she was joking or not.

"Thanks Cordy." Buffy smiled a weak smile at her.

"Your welcome. I can't believe she did something like that to you."

"Me neither, i wonder what's gotten into her."

Groaning and tweaking the bridge of his nose Giles coughed rather loudly. "If you girls do not mind, could yo talk about this later? Tara? If you would be so kind.." He gestured towards the cages before walking over to Cordelia and grabbing the rifle.

Tara nodded and kneeled down in between the two cages. She opened her bag and started to prepare a spell. "W-which one first?" she asked Giles who was about to answer but then changed his mind. "Willow." When the blond looked at him in confusion he pointed towards the redhead.

"I think he was about to say your name." Cordelia whispered to Buffy, having slowly made her way over to the cage. "I'm not worried tho, you are back in control, I can see it in your eyes."

"Bloody hell! What are you doing there?" Giles looked as if he was about to have a stroke. "I-i have to go upstairs and talk with the police, they should be here any minute." He was about to climb up when Cordelia asked him about the rifle, he stopped and marched past Cordelia straight towards Tara.

"Here, YOU take that, keep an eye out." He went back to the ladder. As he was about half way up he yelled something down. "On all three of them!" A tirade of murmurs echoed down as he made his way back up to the office.

"W-w-wa.. wait? What?" Tara hugged the rifle close to her chest and backed away from Cordelia and the cages, nearly tripping over the desk. "S-stay away!"

"Tara right? Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you ok?" Cordelia tried.

"N-no i d-do not believe you, Mr. Giles said I should w-watch all three of you!"

"He was being funny and included me for other reasons. Com on look at me, do I look like I'm dangerous?" There was a muted snicker from Buffy's cage.

"N-nooone here looks d-dangerous b-but the redhead has b-blood all over her face and is a powerful wicca a-and the blond over there bends iron bars with h-her bare hands! S-sooo that's not really the issue.. oh.. a-and you casually shot someone j-just a minute ago."

About to say something Cordelia lifted up a finger .. but nothing came out of her mouth and she put the finger down again. "Well yes.. it was a tranquilizer gun tho, that counts for something right?" She smiled at Tara who glared back at her. Cordelia sighed and moved back over to Buffy to give Tara some space to work.


	3. The Comfort and Safety of a Cage

**The Slayercave beneath the Library**

"Ugh.. what did you do that for? You shot me twice now!" Willow complained as she woke from her stupor.

"I would shoot you again given the chance." Cordelia replied as she glanced over to Tara who was about finished with both her spells.

"S-Stop! N-n-not again! B-both cages s-should be safe now. Yours against human magical interference a-and yours against d-demonic empowered physical alteration." She sighed, feeling rather exhausted after this much work.

"Demonic empowered .. what?" Cordelia asked looking between Buffy and Tara. "What is she talking about?"

"I have no clue what Giles told her, maybe he thinks Willow put a demon in me..."

"I did no such thing! All I did was .. nudge a little." The redhead half mumbled the last part. "Nudge a little? Tara give me the rifle."

"Oh.." Was all the blond Wicca said in reply and focused her attention back to her magical trinkets, slowing putting everything back where it belonged.

"Oh? What's there to oh about?" Cordelia started to get up from her spot next to Buffy but the slayer stopped her. "Leave her alone, this must be pretty confusing for her."

"She's not the only one, I guess the only one who knows what really happened is the tranquilizer target over there." As Cordelia said this Tara raised her hand. "H-how about we try to figure this out, b-but p-please no more yelling a-and snippy r-remarks I-i don't think I can take any more of t-those."

"That sounds like a brilliant idea, go on Willow, tell us why you soulraped Buffy." Cordelia's voice dripped with venom as she said that and Willow flinched.

Tara was about to say something but Willow held up a hand. "No .. she's right .. It's all my faul. I should not have tried the spell this early on and not without a lot more research about slayers first.. but it was the perfect opportunity. Buffy was very upset and we didn't know what happened .. so I thought I could .. you know help her out and try the spell at the same time. I also added a calming effect just to make sure."

"Now that worked out just dandy didn't it, Buffy looked absolutely serene as she slobbered all over the floor while pouncing on your witchshieldthingie." Cordelia huffed before adding a "Sorry sweetie." in Buffy's direction.

"How was I supposed to know something like that would happen? All I wanted was t-take a quick peek and then calm her down so she could sleep better. Afterwards everything would have been fine, we would have talked about what I saw and tried to come up with a plan."

At this Buffy looked over at the redhead. "Or.. you could have simply let me sleep and explain everything later. There was no need to do what you did.. none at all. You used me as a lab rat Willow, that is taking it too far. If you want to know something just ask ok? And if I don't want to talk about something you have to respect that, that's what friends do right?"

Willow nodded and started to sob. "I'm so sorry Buffy! I will make it up to you I swear!"

Cordelia took Buffy's hand and gently squeezed it. She was amazed that Buffy handled this so .. calmly and quite frankly it worried her a little, if it were up to her she would leave Willow in this cell for good dotted with some more darts for good measure.

Buffy and Cordelia kept holding hands and softly talked about something while Tara made her way over to Willow. "The s-spells you wove were very advanced and dangerous, m-my mother did something like that o-once.. weaving dark and light together.. i-it d-did not end well."

"It's not like I had any other chance. The healing spells were needed to support my body, I would have bled out otherwise. And the blood magic was very much needed or I would not have been able to keep the shield up, or .. uh .. make an exit." Willow said in her defense.

"M-maybe, but you c-corrupted the light to your needs, do you realize what this can do to your s-soul a-and hers? This is sick!" This made Willow flinch again and she kept quiet afterwards.

* * *

After what seemed like hours Cordelia tried to convince Tara to let them out of the cages since it was obvious that there was no more danger but the blond held firm. Then she tried the door between the 2 cages on the far side of the room, but this was locked, same as the trapdoor leading to the office.

"Great, what if they arrested Giles and we are stuck in here? Com on Tara get them out of the cages, either of them could open the doors easily." The blond shook her head."N-no Mister Giles said.." Before she could finish the was a rustling of keys and the click of a turning lock.

"I'm terribly sorry, but the police was quite insistent that I follow them to the station to help with a description of the 'vandals'." Tara immediately ran over to him and handed him the rifle. "I-i finished the spells b-but I t-there was no need for any of that. I have to get g-going."

"Well, yes sure run along, thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it."

"N-next time warn me about .. s-something like this please?" She gestured to the room and all it stood for.

"Right.. Of course."

Nodding Tara gave Buffy and Cordelia a timid wave before heading out the door.

"Umm.. well, the police is dealt with and from the looks of it you have calmed down. I'm in no mood to discuss what happened here but I expect to hear from you in the morning. Let me open the cages and I will tell you how to use the tunnels to get back out." He went over to Willow and unlocked her cage with a stern expression on his face. The redhead kept her head down and followed the watcher over to Buffy's cage. "I'm sooo sorry Buffy, c-can we talk about this, maybe tomorrow? Please give me a chance to explain."

The blond nodded and Willow made way for Giles to unlock Buffy's cage as well. Buffy however would not leave her cage and when questioned as to why she simply stared at the ground before looking over to Cordelia.

"It's alright Giles, I'll take care of this, what was that about the tunnels?" The watcher quickly explained the fastest way out of the network of tunnels that ran below the school and left the cave with Willow right behind him.

* * *

They huddled together in silence, Cordelia's arms hung protectively around the blond. It was as if time had reverted back by a couple of month and they were in each others arms again to comfort each other like best friends would do.

"I-i'm not sweet.. at all." Buffy mumbled and Cordelia's left eyebrow rose. "Umm.. ok.. where is this coming from?" Somewhat confused Cordelia pulled back a bit to look Buffy in the eyes, but the blond averted her gaze. "Y-you called me sweetie."

"Oh.. sorry that must have slipped out, I did not mean anything by it."

Buffy nodded and Cordelia started to smile. "You know what? I got a great idea. My parents are gone so we got the whole mansion to ourselves, how about you come and stay over for a while. We could catch up and have some fun, just like back then you know?" Buffy murmured something and Cordelia went on. "We can talk about anything you want, whenever you feel like it.. or just relax. I'd really like that, what do you say?"

Cordelia looked down at Buffy who was still in her arms. The girl was trying her best to keep it together, but it was obvious that she was severely shaken up. _'Is this because she attacked me again ? No.. I made sure not to mention it.. and no one else did either. Then because the slayer got out and she lost control .. or what Willow did .. that bitch, how could she do that to Buffy?'_

"Shhh.. it's ok, I'm here .. we don't have to go to the mansion. We can stay right here if you want." Cordelia kept stroking Buffy's back in a calming manner and very slowly rocked her back and forth. Buffy no longer held back and tears flowed freely but no sound left the slayer. They stayed like that for quite a while before Buffy sniffled and looked up at Cordelia. "L-let's go."

* * *

They had made it to Cordelia's car without much trouble, at least something to be thankful for on this day. Dropping by at Buffy's to grab some stuff and talk with Mrs. Summer had been a bit more complicated, especially since Cordelia was still in she costume, but in the end Joyce had let her daughter go. All in all it took them two hours to get to the mansion, almost all of it was spent in silence but small reassuring gestures flowed between them to let the other know everything was going to be ok.

Buffy kept her eyes on Cordelia as they drove up to the front entrance of the Chase Estate. _'She is amazing, after all I have put her through.. all the pain, trouble, doubts and betrayal.. she is here. Helping me, bringing me to her home, listening to me, reassuring me.'_ Tears started to fall again and Buffy looked away, away from Cordelia, away from all the pain and hurt she had caused the brunette. _'I don't deserve her, I don't deserve any of this.'_ She started to hug herself to calm the nerves, and Cordelia noticed.

 _'This is so messed up, I should never have let her stay away for so long. Problems do not go away when you ignore them, they fester.. and in her case there is a lot at stake. I will not let her out of my sight again, we will get through this together.'_

Maria waited at the entrance with an umbrella in hand, it must have started raining a while ago but neither girl had noticed. They hurried inside and after reassuring Maria that everything was ok and that they did not need anything they could finally relax. Cordelia kicked off her boots and got out of her rather complicated dress muttering something all the while. "This damn thing.. ill burn it once I get the chance." She slipped out of the last part of the dress and headed over to the wardrobe. "Ah that's better, now for something comfy. Do you want something as well or did you grab your own comfy cloth when we were over at your house?"

There was no answer, only the rustling of cloth. Shrugging Cordelia picked out a rather huge t-shirt and some sweatpants, put them on and closed the wardrobe. "I could get us a bite to eat if you want? I'm somewhat hungry so you must be practically starving huh?" Cordelia smiled and turned around to look for Buffy, expecting to see her in a similar outfit ready to raid the fridge. That was not the case however, she found Buffy in bed with a pleading look on her face. "Or.. we just turn in and calm down a bit, sounds good to me." Cordelia went on and Buffy's face relaxed before turning into a frown.

"I-i'm sorry .. I don't mean to be such a burden, we can go to the kitchen if you want to." The blond mumbled, somewhat embarrassed about being so needy. Cordelia went over to her and cupped her cheek, looking Buffy directly in the eye. "You are no burden to me Buffy. I wanted you to come here, to be with you, to help you.. ok sweetie? This is all about you."

Buffy melted into Cordelia's hand. "This feels so good, a simple touch b-but it means so much to me. That you even talk to me m-means so much to me." It was obvious that she wanted to say more but she stopped with a sigh and sat up straighter, moving her head away from Cordelia's hand. "You know what? I could really go for a steak or two right about now, we can talk later alright?."

Nodding Cordelia helped Buffy up and after she put one something more appropriate they made their way down to the kitchen.

"You did it again by the way." Buffy teased, her mood risen.

"Huh?"

"You called me sweetie."

"Oh.. well .. do you mind? I keep feeling overly protective of you and this .. kinda feels .. fitting you know?"

"It's nice." There was a pause. "Cordelia?"

"Yes?"

"Umm.. nevermind."


	4. Dirty Secrets

**Chase Mansion, Kitchen**

"It is a bit late for steaks isn't it?" Maria looked a bit perplexed from Buffy to Cordelia. "It would not sit well if you ate something like this at such an hour." She protested.

"It's not even 8pm and besides our little Buffy here has the belly of a beast." She said with a grin and hoped the slayer would not take it the wrong way.

"Gee Cordy, thanks for the compliment."

"Well.. alright, I will get right on it, but don't say I did not warn you!" She held up a spatula as to emphasize her seriousness.

"Thanks a lot Maria, I really appreciate it. We did not keep you from anything did we?" Buffy asked, feeling guilty for disturbing the woman in her off hours.

The maid waved it off. "Nothing my DVD recorder can not show me later."

"We will take the meal in the TV-room." Cordelia said and pulled Buffy along to a nearby room that was pretty much what she would have expected. A rather large TV, a sturdy low table and the most comfortable couch one could imagine. "Umm.. you sure this is such a good idea? I don't think you're supposed to eat in a TV-room."

"Pff.. if you got the money to have an extra TV-room you do not really have to worry about messing it up do you? Com on try out the couch, you will never want to get back up once you're snuggled in there."

"That's what I'm worried about, I left your room expecting to eat something and that does not really seem to be an option in that thing."

"Sure it is, but its gonna take a while for Maria to finish so let's get comfy." Cordelia flopped down and wiggled backwards a bit. "Now you." She said with a smile patting the space before her and Buffy gingerly sat down in front of Cordelia between her legs. Buffy was about to say something when Cordelia's arms snaked up under Buffy's arms and embraced her from behind to make the slayer lean back against her. "Hmmm." Cordelia smiled. "That's better isn't it?"

She eased into the embrace, thoroughly lost in the sensation of letting go. Of what happened today, of her guilt, shame, anger .. everything. Cordelia placed her chin on Buffy's right shoulder. "Now I got you again, don't I?" The blond nodded slowly. "Good, then I won't ever let you go again." She said with a seriousness that startled the slayer, raising questions she wanted to ask Cordelia. Big questions that could ruin this moment, even ruin what they just got back after such a long time, so she kept them inside with all the others.

* * *

There was a knock and the door opened only a split second later. Slayer reflexes spurred Buffy into motion propelling her from a half slumber on top of Cordelia into a position that resembled something akin to the way people normally sat when they wanted to eat something. Cordelia blinked up into the glaring light that Maria had switched from dim mode to something akin to blazing sun of hell.

After she put the plates down Maria positioned herself right in front of the two girls. "I'm not stupid you know." She said as a statement and pointed her finger at them. "The TV is off, and the light might have been as well. I'm not old enough not to notice something like that."

Buffy turned white as a sheet and was about to protest vehemently what she thought Maria would say next. The woman started to wag her finger. "I thought I told you to stay away from drugs Cordelia!" And that's when Buffy lost it and started to laugh, wholeheartedly.

"Oh dear.. Cordelia?! What did you give this poor girl? Dios Mio!" Cordelia started laughing as well and Maria was about to call an ambulance when Buffy grabbed her by the arm and tried to convince her that everything is fine.

"Sure sure, everything is just peachy isn't it?" She stopped and looked at Cordelia "And here I was wondering why she wanted to eat so much this late in the day. ... Where is it? Hand it over right now and I will let this drop."

"Maria." Cordelia said in between bursts of giggles. "Maria seriously, there are no drugs. We were just.." At this point a wide-eyed Buffy popped up in between them. "Gossiping! A-and it was pretty .. uh .. private.. so we were just surprised when you came in."

Cordelia sighed and rolled her eyes before adding more to the story. "Yep that's it, we lost it because you were so wide off track."

"Hrmpf." Was her reply and she sniffed the air. "Hrm..." Taking one last look around the room she shrugged. "Well if you say so.. I'll keep an eye out during my cleaning shift." She squinted her eyes as she said that. "Turning in for the night now.. again. See you girls tomorrow.. and don't gossip too much, god sees everything." She held up a warning finger before leaving the room.

The girls burst into laughter once the door closed. "That was great." "Yep it was." Some more giggling followed before a certain blond was drawn towards the food.

"You didn't have to stop me by the way." Cordelia pointed out as she positioned herself behind Buffy again. "For one thing I'm pretty sure Maria would be cool with us being all touchy feely, she may be very religious but she is a good person and that trumps everything."

"What's the second thing?" Buffy asked in between tearing flesh and gnawing bone.

"Now she will triple check the whole mansion in search of little bags filled with green stuff." Cordelia replied with a grin.

* * *

Cordy lightly patted Buffy's stomach. "There is not going to be a slayerish burp is there?" She asked with a somewhat serious voice as the slayer finished the last bit of crumbs from both plates. "What? No! Don't worry." She replied. "I'm really not grossing you out or anything?"

"Nope, I enjoy watching you eat, you look so blissfully lost when you do." Cordelia smiled and made Buffy lean back on her again. "Want to turn on the TV to keep up the cover?"

"Nah I think we are safe for tonight and I'd rather just be here with you, maybe talk about something that's not so .. umm .. heavy?" Cordelia laughed as she heard that. "Uh huh .. like what?"

"Um.. good point." Buffy smirked at that. "How about .. Giles?"

"What about him?" Cordelia asked with a grumble.

"Did he really throw you out of his house because of what you wore?"

"Well it's not really about what I'm wearing but more about what it could imply isn't it? And in his defense it was a bit .. much that day but i had a d-date with Daria afterwards a-...and did not want to change." Cordelia's voice went from casual through timid towards apolitical.

"And already at the first heavy stuff .. yay.." Buffy muttered.

"I'm sorry.. i think? You .. want me to be sorry right?" Cordelia muttered.

"Ugh.. nevermind, no talking about Giles then.. or Daria for that matter. How about Willow, no. Xander... no."

"W-we could still talk about Daria, it's not that heavy.. I mean all things considering."

"It isn't?" Buffy tone was pure sarcasm as the scooted forward and turned around so she was facing Cordelia. "Alright then. Are you two dating? What do you feel about her? What does she feel about you? Is it the same as with me? What exactly do you feel for me? Where is this thing going? What sort of thing is it even? You said you didn't love me remember?"

"Alright alright! Heavy topic, heavy topic, I get it." Cordelia held up her hands.

"See?" Buffy grinned at her for a second before going on. "I will need all those questions answered by the way... I-i mean.. ugh I don't know. I love being here with you and I like the hugging and being so close b-but every time this happens all these questions pop up in my head and it freaks me out ok? I need some sort of clarity, something I can put my hand on and say 'that's the way it is and that won't change' you know?"

Cordelia nodded and before she could say something Buffy went on. "L-like before when you told me that you would never let go again? What do you mean with that? T-that could mean you won't ever risk our friendship again o-or that we will be together, as in together together. That's like the worst case of mixed signals I'm getting here." At this she looked helplessly at the brunette.

"A-and then you say that you don't love me, so i think 'alright friendship it is' but in the next second you hold me so close and whisper in my ear and I'm melting away. Oh! Let's not forget the 'I did this all for you!' w-what the fuck Cordy? That's like the most romantic and noble thing anyone had ever done for me, a-and i betrayed you and you are still here... a-and I broke you, I broke you Cordy!" Panic started to rise in Buffy as she kept pouring her heart out, she kept staring at Cordelia who tried her best to keep up.

Buffy was about to keep going as Cordelia closed what little space was in between them and leaned in, her lips only a whisper away from Buffy's. "Do you want to kiss me?" An innocent-sounding question from Cordelia and an almost inaudible yes came back. Buffy's head move forwards and all thought ceased to exist.

* * *

The kiss had intensified quickly, hands moved as the need to get closer to the other became increasingly more urgent. They moved back on the couch, the slayer on top of the brunette for second before being flipped over. Cordelia's head dipped down towards Buffy's neck, marking her, enticing a series of moans from the blond. They had not said a word for quite a while, solely focus on enjoying the moment, so when Cordelia said something it shook Buffy out of her trance like state. "Mine." Was all she said as her head came back up from her priced possession.

Buffy's whole body shivered at the intensity of this single word and with a shaky voice she replied. "Y-yours." Which must have been exactly what Cordelia wanted to hear as she broke out into a wide smirk and resumed the kiss.


	5. Groundrules II

**Chase Mansion, TV-room**

Things started to spiral out of control, Buffy's breathing was coming in ragged moans as she raised her hips against Cordelia's leg. Cordy on the other hand, roamed over Buffy's exposed flesh leaving marks, teasing, retreating only to return with renewed vigor. To the blond it was exquisite like nothing she had ever experienced, for Cordelia it was all she could do before crossing any more lines. She wanted to bite this flesh before her, scratch her nails across the other girls back, draw blood only to kiss it all away again. _'Ugh.. I have to stop this, she certainly is not going to._ ' At this Cordelia gazed down at the blond beneath her, eyes glazed over moaning Cordy's name. _'God that's so damn sexy.'_

"P-please Cordy." The slayer pleaded, looking up at the brunette while clawing at her shirt. _'Shit shit shit.'_ was all Cordelia could think _'We have to stop, and fast!'_ That's when a slim hand made its way beneath Cordys shirt, cupping her breast. _"Fuck.."_ Arching her back, pressing against Buffy's hand she started to lose her train of thoughts again. Only when Buffy's other hand started to wander beneath the waistband did Cordy snap back to reality. "W-wait." Was all she could get out and Buffy's hands stopped immediately.

"Oh god! I'm sorry Cordy .. I didn't.. I wanted .."

"Shh shh it's ok, it's ok, let's just .. take it slow alright?" Cordelia said with a reassuring smile and Buffy replied in kind, smiling sheepishly. "Easy for you to say." Mumbled the blond.

"It isn't believe me." Came the reply and Buffy believed her, seeing the sparks in her eyes she knew that this was something real, not some act of twisted pity of derailed friendship. Cordelia wanted this as much as she did. 'Maybe not for the exact same reasons, but that's something we will have to find out.'

"K-kissing is fine tho.. right?" Buffy asked batting her eyelashes.

"Kissing is superfine." Cordelia planted a feathery light kiss on Buffy's most prominent bruise.

"And touching?" The blond started to draw lazy circles on Cordy's leg.

"Very much so, whatever you want to do is, just .. you know ..we shouldn't overdo it alright? I don't want you to regret anything we do." She added in a way that made Buffy cup her face and kiss her slowly but insistingly before breaking the contact again. "Sounds like good ground rules to me." Laughing Cordelia agreed and wrapped her arms around the blond, resuming the position they were in before they started to make out. They stayed like this for a few minutes, calming down, enjoying the warmth of the other when Buffy started to talk again. "So... about Daria, what exactly.." Was all she could get out before a giant Pillow descended down on her, muffling any further inquisitions.

* * *

"Ok ok! I yield." Croaked the slayer as she held up her hands. "I won't ask about her again.. at least for today."

"Fair enough." Cordelia glanced up at the clock. "It's getting kinda late, we should head back upstairs unless you want to crash here and give Maria a heart attack in the morning." She said with a grin which was met with a serious face from Buffy. "That's not funny, she seemed genuinely concerned yesterday about the drug thing. Is there something you want to tell me Cordy?"

"Hey do you even notice you keep calling me Cordy? I like it."

"Oh.. well .. yes me too, hey! No changing the subject." But the brunette had already gotten up and made her way over to the door, swaying her hips as she went. "Make me." And off she went, running out of the room and up the stairs, a blond whirlwind right on her heels. They made it to Cordy's door without toppling to many things and Buffy almost bashed the door in as she pinned the other girl against it. "Got you!"

They all but toppled inside, kicking the door shut again before stumbling over to the bed, lips already locked again, hands trailing.

* * *

There was a rather loud ring and then another. Cordelia groaned and tried to untangle Buffy from her body. Lazily her arm slapped around trying to hit the accursed thing that was blaring for all it was worth. She hit quite a few things but the sound kept going, finally she grabbed a mobile that seemed to be the culprit and held it to her ear. "What?" She grumbled into the receiver.

"C-cordelia?" Came the tentative reply from Willow.

"Shit!" Cordelia almost dropped the phone as she shook the slayer awake and all but pushed the phone into Buffy's hand.

"Huh... What? Who's this?" Buffy mumbled as she tried to open one eye after the other.

"H-hi Buffy.. I-i was getting worried since you didn't show up for first class a-and thought I'd call to make sure you are a-alright. Sorry! I-i'll call again later after the next class." **CLICK** Groaning Buffy let the phone drop and turned back around to resume sleeping. "Umm.. Buffy Sweetie? You may have missed a tiny little detail there .."

"I don't care about class, give me another half an hour or so and we should make it to 4th." Came a grumbling reply as the blond buried her head in the pillows.

"Well yes that .. a-and you kinda .. didn't have to push any button.. to talk with Willow .. did you?" Cordelia tried to explain as calming as she could.

"Cordy please let me sleep, I'm .. I'm wait what?" Buffy turned back around facing Cordelia and upon seeing the guilt riddled face it made click. "YOU! Y-you answered my phone?"

"Well kinda.. I thought it was the alarm! And then I thought it was my phone, I was pretty groggy too you know?!"

All Buffy did was groan and pull the pillow over her head.

"But that doesn't have to mean anything! You simply stayed over to calm down, she won't suspect a thing!"

"Wrofff." Came the muffled reply.

* * *

 **The Cafeteria**

As Cordelia and Buffy walked in they immediately saw their friends.. and other people. Xander was grinning wildly, waving them over. The strawberry did her best not to look up. Tara scrunched her eyebrows together as if trying to understand something and Daria glared in open hostility at the slayer.

"I think I'd like to go back to the mansion right about now." The slayer mumbled as they made their way over.

"The Queen has arrived! And she is dining with the lower classes." Xander exclaimed overly exuberant. "Seriously tho, this is great." He looked around the desk, the smile still plastered all over his face. "Oh.. and hey Buffster interesting scarf you got there." He added.

"Hey.." Buffy replied and sat down in front of the strawberry. Cordelia greeted the group as well and was about to sit down when Daria grabbed her by the arm. "We have to talk." She hissed at the brunette and dragged her off.

"Ok.. maybe the queen doesn't dine with lower classes today.." Xander grumbled. "And here I thought this was going to be a good day, however.. anyone else notice the amounts of girls at this table? This will boost my popularity ratings through the roof."

"O-or you might get a d-different kind of reputation." Tara added shyly.

"Ugh what? No no no, I'm the manly man that attracts all the women that's what and if anyone says otherwise ill have Willow punch them in the arm, right Willster?"

"Sure Xander, sure." Mumbled the strawberry.

"Geez what's up with you today Willow?" Xander turned his attention fully to the redhead.

"S-she had a hard day yesterday, w-we all had." Tara defended the girl. "W-which is why I'm here b-by the way." She looked at Buffy. "To talk about the .. uh .. vandals yesterday? I-i hope you don't mind." She glanced at Cordelia who was arguing with Daria in a secluded corner of the cafeteria. "E-everything alright over there? That g-girl.. Daria? She seemed p-pretty upset about something."

"I can't deal with this without some food in me." Buffy stated and stood up, heading over to the counter leaving a confused Tara and a mumbling witch behind. Xander meanwhile said something about catfights and watched Cordelia and Daria arguing.

* * *

Despite her earlier protest that she hat to eat something Buffy only picked at her food once she sat back down on their table. Xander had moved off to join the gathering crowd around Daria and Cordelia, who in turn, noticing the scene they were causing made a hasty exit. Tara had spoken with Willow, to Buffy it sounded like an excuse for being rude yesterday but the slayer didn't really have the patience nor curiosity to listen to them.

"Looks like the show is over." Xander flopped back down and resumed his meal before noticing three sets of eyes glaring at him. "What?!"

"I-i don't think that was p-part of their usual routine." Tara said and Willow nodded before she added something. "It's all my fault, it always is..."

"Huh? I got the feeling I'm left out of the loop, com on guys what's the matter, talk to uncle Xander." But Willow vehemently shook her head and Tara shrugged her shoulder.

"Buffster? Ever since Jesse left town you are pretty much my number two buddy you know that right?"

"Ugh.. there was a misunderstanding and somehow.." Buffy glared at Willow at this point. "..Daria must have overheard Willow talking about it."

"I'm sorry! She must've heard that I wanted to call you in the break and w-when.. you know .. she heard.. a-and then .. the thing .. and s-she simply came over here during lunch and waited. W-we were bait I guess since either you or Cordelia would have showed up here." Willow explained, trying to be as vague as possible.

"We need more guys in this group I swear, no dude would ever have the patience to talk like that." Xander threw up his hands. "Fine, whatever, I'll let you girls talk about whatever you want to talk about. See you later."

Watching Xander wander off, Willow kept apologizing to Buffy. "I'm really really sorry! About everything! I keep making these dumb mistakes .. i don't know why."

"Hey it's ok, you couldn't have known and it's not your fault Daria misunderstood the whole thing. It'll work out don't worry but let's talk about the vandals now ok? Tara is about to feel as frustrated as Xander here with all the vagueness."

Tara smiled shyly at this. "Y-yeah a l-little bit, but m-more out of curiosity t-then anything else. I-it's certainly never boring with you a-around is it?" That brought a laugh out of the slayer. "That's for sure."

They sat closer together and talked about what had happened yesterday. Buffy had to keep Willow from apologizing, which was harder then it sounds and Tara did her best to help. She felt guilty for the way she treated Willow. The redhead in return claimed she deserved every bit of it due to what she did to Buffy. This went on for quite a bit until they moved on to Giles and the library. They knew that the police had questioned him about the vandals that smashed up his office and he gave them a rather generic description, but other then that they didn't know what was going on. "We should head over there later, he wanted to talk with us anyway." Willow said and Tara nodded. "S-sure I still need my payment." That raised an eyebrow or two. "W-what?"

"Well you two do that, i don't think we should crowd him, he seemed pretty stressed yesterday. You can tell me later what's going on ok?" Buffy said. "Meanwhile i better check out if Cordy is ok, bye."

As Buffy left Tara leaned close to Willow before asking. "Have you noticed that this Daria girl kinda looks like.." **POW** "H-hey! What was that for?" Willow mumbled an excuse, claiming it was all Xander's fault.


	6. Slumberparty

**Locker Room**

"You got some nerve showing up here!" Daria was about to stomp towards Buffy but Cordelia stopped her. "Daria, just .. don't ok? It will not change anything I've said."

"Fuck what you said." She said to Cordelia before turning to Buffy and walking right up to her. "And fuck YOU! Who do you think you are? You threw away your chance with her, and now you waltz back into our lives as if nothing happened?"

"Stop Daria, leave her alone!" Cordelia kept trying to stop her, but the blond easily grabbed her arms. "Stay out of this Cor! She is just a piece of shit that keeps hurting you and you are too kind to realize that."

That hit home and Buffy almost stumbled as she heard the words and Daria turned back towards her. "The truth is a bitch eh? Hurts doesn't it?! Get out of our life you dumb little bitch." She pushed her against the lockers before storming off. Buffy didn't resist, at all and stood where to other girl had left her, leaning against a dented locker.

Cordelia immediately ran over. "I'm sorry about this, are you ok?" Buffy shook her head. "N-no .. I'm not, I'm fucked up and will never be ok.. at all. She's right.."

"No.. no no no she's not, sweetie please. It's ok now, she's gone, for good ok? She doesn't know anything about us, she just wanted to hurt you." Cordelia stroked Buffy face, trying to get the other girl to look her in the eye. "I'm here see? And I'm not going anywhere." Buffy looked up at Cordelia and the pain in the slayers eye broke her heart. "Oh sweetie, don't do this to yourself, we will get through this ok?". The blond nodded slowly. "I-i'm such a mess, I break down every other day it seems."

Cordelia smiled and hugged Buffy close. "Yep you are a wuss, but you are my wuss and once we worked through everything you might even last a week without turning into a weeping mess again." Buffy returned the embrace. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 **The Library**

"It was totally messed up in there, she immediately recognized I was inside her and started to fight me.. o-or rather it started to fight me with my own hands and body.. well her body. The voice was Buffy's a-at least at first but t-this thing took over in seconds. It was a demon, a scaly, spiky, horned thing and it b-broke my neck and k-kept screaming at me 'Nooo!' and 'Y-you shall not see!' b-before trying to g-gauge my eyes out." Willow looked over to a wide-eyed Tara. "Maybe you should take a break, you don't look so good."

"N-no this is important.. b-but it sounds so horrible." Tara mumbled before motioning Willow to continue. Giles seemed eager to hear the rest of the story as well. Ever since they got into the library he had taken record of everything they had said, so this must be something important and not about getting all the facts to give the girls a proper scolding.

"Well that's when the spell broke, I'm not really sure how or why, and I was back in the office staring into Buffy's eyes while she screamed at me .. I kinda screamed too. Then she leaped at me and this shield came up around me, it stopped her. I felt a rush of power, i-it was amazing, so much power." She had started to smile as she recalled the feeling but quickly realized this was not helping her cause and calmed down again. "Um.. well, yes, there was a rush of power but I knew what it did to me. So I, well I know quite a lot of healings spells already, I twisted a few of them a little bit and they merged with the shield a-and me." Willow kept glancing at Tara, remembering how she had reacted when they had talked about this in the Slayercave.

"I-i had to! If not I would have been torn to shreds in seconds." She looked from Giles to Tara and back again, not finding that much sympathy. "Gee fine, next time I'll simply decorate the walls with my innards if that's more to your liking."

"N-no Willow t-that's not it. Y-you could have cast a calm spell, o-or sleep or q-quite a few other harmless spells that w-would have worked just the same.. b-but you didn't."

"She is right, you already lost control over what you are casting, always choosing something that leads you further down the very path I warned you about when I left you alone with Buffy." Giles sighed. "You might not be aware of this.. no you definitely are not aware of this but some of the decision you make are no longer your own."

Willow was about to protest but stopped, realizing that it made sense, had since the beginning so there was no point to protest.. yet she did. "Oh boy.." She murmured. "S-so what now? Do I have to get back into that cage? I-i mean I could do anything."

"Yes you could, which is why we have to come up with a plan." Giles removed his glasses and sighed. "Willow please call your parents and tell them you are staying over at Tara's house for the night. Tomorrow is no school day so that should be ok right?" The redhead nodded. "Good, then we .. will put you in the cage for now until we figure something out, I have at least two ideas at the moment but both of them are rather extreme so we better keep looking."

"S-she could help, let her stay here in the library and we can all work on something together." Tara reasoned but Giles shook his head. "No, that won't work. She would not find anything and might try to escape."

"Guys? I'm right here.." Willow half mumbled as she slumped to the ground waiting for the verdict.

* * *

 **At the stairs leading up to Sunnydale High**

"I feel like one of those prisoners with an ankle bracelet." Willow mumbled as Tara explained the solution they had agreed on to Buffy and Cordelia. "So instead of p-putting Willow i-in a cage for the foreseeable future she agreed to c-cast a spell that allows me to .. kinda u-umm." Tara was having a hard time finding the right word so Willow piped in. "Enslave me! That's the human way to deal with this situation they came up with." Tara started to protest and Cordelia flashed a wide grin. "Sounds kinky."

"What? N-noo! It's not like that Willow a-and not like that either Cordelia!" Tara harumphed. "It's more of a safety spell, if she goes all grrr I can .. um.."

"Ok we get it, you can somehow make her stop, relax Tara." Buffy helped her out before Cordelia summarized the situation. "Soo.. we got a psychopathic witch who is on a leash .. by another witch and now you guys are what, heading off to Hollywood?"

"N-no we h-have a slight problem here, Willow told h-her parents that she is staying over at my place b-but my place is not really .. it's .. w-we can't go there, so I thought we could go to either of you guys? C-cause I don't think two students sleeping over at the librarians house i-is such a good idea."

Buffy looked over at Cordelia, letting the brunette handle this. "I had something very different planned for this evening." She mumbled. "Ugh.. it's not like there is a choice is there?"

"Nope." Willow quipped. "If you say no Tara will make me puke all over your shoes .. or something." The blond immediately held up her hands. "I wouldn't! I-i can't .. the spell does n-not.."

"This is going to be fun.." Mumbled a grumpy Cordelia before leading the group to her car.

* * *

 **The Chase Mansion**

"T-this is amazing! It's like a castle!" Tara spun around in the entrance hall looking up at the far off ceiling. There was a polite cough as Maria looked at the group that had just entered the mansion.

"Good evening." She said and looked at Cordelia. "This is complicated." Came a tense reply from the brunette and Buffy felt like she should hold her hand but with Willow, Tara and Maria it was awkward. _'Damn, it is high time we talk about stuff like that.'_

"I'm sure it is." Sighed Maria, shaking her head. "Oh well.. what can I get you girls?"

"Oh oh do you have strawberry ice?"

"W-what no? I d-don't need anything, we d-don't want to cause any trouble."

"I could go for a another chicken sandwich, you know with the whole chicken.."

Cordelia massaged her temples and let the chaos unfold.

* * *

' _This is a bad idea, bad bad idea. I wonder what Cordy was thinking when she moved all of us over here._ ' Buffy pondered as the brunette had simply taken her hand as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world and lead her, followed by Willow and Tara into the TV-room.

"W-wow! L-look at that thing." Tara stammered as she looked up at the screen before dropping down onto the couch. "This is amazing, come here Willow try the couch, it's like a leather cloud." Feeling somewhat chipper Willow flopped right on down. She may have this weird spell on her but at least she got to see Cordelia's house, well mansion, something she had wondered about for quite a while now. "Hey your right, this is great, Buffy come! You have to try."

Buffy smiled as she joined the other two and was about to make a grab for the remote when something slid in from behind her. "You guys want to watch something in particular?" Cordelia asked nonchalantly as she took the remote with her right hand, and draped her left around Buffy's stomach.

"No, let's just flip on through really fast!" Willow and Tara almost said in unison.

"Sounds good, here catch." Cordelia threw the remote between the two witches and nestles her right hand around Buffy. "This is going to be a fun evening don't you think so sweetie?" She said in a whisper, thoroughly enjoying the sound of discomfort that came from the blond.

The witches tussled playfully for a bit before Tara lifted a finger and mumbled something at which point Willow panicked. The blond deftly took the remote and flipped on the TV. "I can't believe you used the spell to steal the remote?!" "I didn't .. I w-would never misuse magic like that." "But I couldn't move!" "That's called panic." Tara replied with a sly smile before flipping to another channel.

"They are kinda cute together don't you think?" Cordelia asked as she nipped at the slayer's neck. "Uh.. huh.." Was all Buffy could get out, trying her best to refrain from moaning at Cordelia's teasing.

They spent the next half an hour flipping through every channel known to mankind, two sets of eyes fixed on the screen and commenting pretty much everything they saw, the other two were otherwise engaged. Cordelia had, sneaky girl that she is, draped a blanket over them and was therefore free to roam her hands over Buffy's body without getting any attention. Buffy's gaze was fixed on the slight movements of the blankets as her hands moved underneath. Cordy on the other hand was having the time of her life, enjoying the newfound power she had over the blond. Because of that all she looked at were the tiny movements the slayer made as her hands kept exploring and teasing.

There was a knock on the door and Maria peaked inside. "Dinner is ready, please follow me." As the girls flipped the tv off, Willow looked over at Buffy. "Hey, you look kinda flushed, everything ok?"

"Y-yeah don't worry, you two go on ahead I have to talk with Cordy about something."

"Alright." Willow and Tara followed Maria, chatting all the while. The second the door snapped shut Buffy pounced Cordelia and started kissing her wildly.

* * *

 **Chase Manor, Kitchen**

"I wonder what they talk about." Tara asked in between bites. "I guess Daria.. oh yes you don't know about that.. um.. ok it's like this. You know Cordelia's show right?"

"W-well yes, i-it's hard to miss."

"Hehe yeah, well.. it's not all a show.. you understand?" Willow said with a slight waggle of the eyebrows.

"O-oh.. so Cordelia is.. and she and Daria? Oh.." Tara looked a bit shocked and then confused. "Um.. o-ok but w-what does this have to do with Buffy and you?"

Willow looked a bit unsure at this point, glancing back the way they had come to make sure Buffy was not in earshot. "I kind of mentioned that I was going to call Buffy to ask why she didn't show up for classes that day a-and Daria must have overheard. So when I called Buffy .. Cordelia picked up sounding rather tired and confused. I-i must've said her name at that point. Then she cursed and there was some rustling before Buffy replied equally sleepy."

Tara gawked at that before starting to laugh. "W-what?! Hahahaha."

"That's not funny! Daria heard the whole thing and must've misunderstood the situation." Tara's laughing reached new heights as she heard this. "HAHAHAHA Yeah right! Misunderstood... HAHAHA." She almost toppled over as she kept laughing.

"Yes misunderstood cause Buffy and Cordelia were simply exhausted after the whole ordeal yesterday... Why are you laughing like that?!" The redhead demanded.

"Nothing hahaha, I-I'm easily amused that's all..." Tara calmed down enough to resort to giggling.

"Hey what's so funny?" Buffy asked as she made her way to the plate with the chicken sandwich, Cordelia trailing slightly behind, her hair looking a little .. off. Tara fell from her stool and after hitting the ground started laughing again. Willow on the other hand shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what's gotten into her."


	7. The Hellmouth Effect

**Chase Mansion, The Kitchen**

They had finished their meal in a somewhat semi-silence. Cordy and Buffy felt somewhat embarrassed and suspected Tara knew something. Tara definitely did and found the whole situation hilarious. Willow felt kind of lost. She felt awkward talking to Buffy after what she did to her. Cordelia hat shot her twice so conversation might be a bit tense and Tara .. well Tara was still giggling from time to time.

Not able to keep a grin from her face Tara turned to the rest of the group. "S-so what now? How about we head back to the TV-room?" Cordelia stiffened and tried her best to come up with alternatives. "How about the pool, you know .. the indoor pool Buffy? Let's go there." Buffy agreed immediately and both of them looked at Willow and Tara who in turn declined, not really feeling like running around half naked in front of each other.

"Alright then, Buffy and I will be that way, it's hard to miss just follow the smell. You guys can explore the mansion, just stay away from the master bedroom. If you need anything ask Maria her shift is not over for another hour or two." And with that they headed off, or rather bounced off from the way their mood had changed.

"Shall we?" Willow asked and Tara nodded. "I-i think I saw a small library earlier, let's check that out. Oh.. and the TV-room."

* * *

"Hey hey slow down Cordy, Maria could see us.. umm this is not on the way to pool." Buffy said in a lame attempt to stop Cordelia's hands. "Smart slayer."

* * *

"T-this town is a-amazing, it's not what i expected at all, b-being on top of a h-hellmouth and all." Tara said as she flipped through a book. "L-like the effect it has on people, Vampires and Demons stalk t-the streets and no one suspects anything. A-all it takes is a simple lie a-and everyone n-nods and goes on as if nothing has happened. Same with y-you and Buffy."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "What about me and Buffy?"

"W-well .. um .. I-i d-don't mean to r-rub it in but anywhere e-else on the planet y-you would be in that cage n-now and Buffy w-would have thrown away the key with a smile on her face." She closed the book, and stared at the cover. "W-what you did i-is unforgivable.. S-sorry.." Tara sighed and fiddled with the book cover. "A-and yet here we are, in Cordelias Mansion, h-having dinner with them, interrupting their f-friday night because we need their help, w-which they gave without much of a second glance. It is amazing a-as I said before." She looked up at Willow who had been silent ever since her question.

"You .. really think so?" The redhead asked in a quiet voice and Tara nodded slowly. "I-i'm s-sorry.. b-but yes.." The blond was silent for a bit before she tried a little smile, ducking her head a bit before she looked over at Willow. "H-hey.. but here n-nothing is normal, a-and most people a-act very differently. Buffy forgave you, which is a w-wonderfull thing y-you should be glad for. N-not everyone g-get's a second chance like this, especially not when it's granted by a tear between hell and earth." She added with a smirk.

"Heh.. I never thought about it that way. So we are all.. what? Blinded by the hellmouth and act totally differently then we normally would?" Willow asked, very much interested in where this conversation was heading.

"N-no. It's more like Smallville, y-you know the movie? E-everyone in Sunnydale is in black and white, o-only a few people have traces of c-color in them. T-they c-can see everything clearly and are not easily f-fooled, like me." Tara finished with a grin.

"Hey.. you just insulted me didn't you?" The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly.

"K-kinda, w-well no not really. Y-you are n-normal, h-hellmouth normal that is, you often don't see what is right in front of y-you. Like Buffy and Cordelia." Tara waggled her eyebrows.

Willow was about to protest but Tara went on. "W-which is good, I mean, a-as I said if it weren't for the effect of the hellmouth e-everything would be a lot different and most likely more .. well h-human. T-there would be more pain and y-yelling, deep r-rooted hate for the weirdest of reasons... " She fell silent after this and Willow wondered why but didn't want to press the issue.

"So.. what about Buffy and Cordelia?"

"They are t-together."

"Yep in the pool at the moment I guess."

"No, they are together together."

"You mean like Daria and Cordy? No.. that.."

"That makes perfect sense." Tara finished with a patient smile. "Which is w-why you do not see it. O-or maybe you simply d-don't want to see it." She shrugged and waited for everything to sink in.

"Ok.. ok.. so Cordelia and Buffy. B-but they are just good friends, they have been through a lot you know? It's only natural they are a bit more attached now." This earned her a stern look from Tara. "Alright alright, m-maybe there is something there. Oh! If what you say is true what else could I have missed?" Panic was in Willow's eyes as she looked over at the blond.

"I-i don't know what you know s-so it's difficult to tell you what you don't know yet." Tara stopped and thought about what she just said before nodding half to herself.

"Ugh... what about ... Xander? Is something wrong with Xander?"

"H-he is the o-only guy at a table full of g-girls and when he wants someone beat up h-his first reaction is to send you."

"Yeah? So?"

"We have a long way to go you and I, but I'll get some color in you don't you worry." Tara smiled a motherly smile at Willow and started to look for a more interesting book.

* * *

It was getting late when Buffy and Cordelia strolled into the library, both wearing their comfy cloth. "Hey guys, ready to turn in? If not I can still show you the guest rooms so you know where to go to later on."

"N-no guest rooms, guest room, I have to stay c-close because of the spell a-and no windows would be good." Tara said, earning a wink from Cordelia. "I don't think we have a guest room with no windows.. that sounds more like a locker or something. We got one guest room in the upper floor tho, climbing out of that window would be kinda hard."

"U-unless your flying." Tara quipped.

"Well yes, if your flying and can crunch library walls with a thought every room in this house is a bad choice." Cordelia mumbled something after saying that and lead them up the stairs.

"Um.. Cordy why are we going to your room?" Buffy asked.

"We are not, but there is a guest room nearby that fits her description."

Tara nodded as they arrived and were shown the room. "This will do."

"Gee .. thanks."

"Key please."

"Oh you got to be kidding me." Cordelia grumbled and Buffy squeezed her hand. "Ugh.. i'll send Maria or Buffy over later ok? I'm getting a headache. Goodnight you two, see you in the morning."

Tara and Willow said their goodnights to the retreating couple and were about to turn in when Tara noticed a tiny detail she must have overlook earlier. She went back into the corridor and yelled something about an extra mattress.

* * *

"What did you mean.. you'll send Maria or me?" Buffy asked as they entered Cordelia's room, there was a hint of accusation in the tone that made Cordy think twice about what she was going to say next.

"Um.. I.. thought since I was not feeling so well you would be so kind and help out poor old me?" She batted her eyelashes at the slayer.

"Hrmpf.. somehow I feel like I'm being manipulated." Buffy replied with mock hurt before perking up again. "Oh! How about this, I fetch the keys and you answer me one tiny little question."

"No no no i can see where this is going, this is going to be another Daria kind of question is it?"

"Com on, pretty pleeease." Buffy drawled.

"You are aware that you are begging me to go and fetch something right?" Cordelia asked with a bemused grin.

"Yep." The blond answered without missing a beat.

"I know I will regret this later but oh well, go on."

With a grin on her face Buffy sprinted off. She passed the door once from left to right, then again from right to left only to appear on the left again with a mattress on her back. There was a muffled thud and Buffy's grin entered Cordelia's bedroom again, closing the door the behind her. "Now about that question." She said a little bit out of breath.

"Let's get into bed first ok sweetie? I really need to lie down and relax a bit."

"Of course."

They got ready for bed and Buffy snuggled under the covers, Cordelia followed shortly afterwards and spooned the slayer. They remained like that for a while, letting the day pass by and their bodies calm down. Eyes started to get heavy and Cordelia started to doze off.

"This is like the first time .. kind of. You remember? That was so confusing for me. I-i mean i broke down after seeing you unharmed and woke up in bed with you, just like this, and you whispered so much into my ear, so much I didn't understand, so much i still don't ..." Cordelia nodded against her shoulder, half asleep but trying her best to stay awake. "And then we had to go back to school, and I.." Buffy paused for a bit, not really feeling like bringing up the subject of betrayal.

"Looking back at it now the show made perfect sense, it was so like you to do something like this. You wanted something you knew no one would understand and made it into something else, something bizarre and loud, something so over the top that people would not understand that what they were seeing was the truth. About you, what you felt, what you wanted." Buffy turned around in Cordelia's arms to face her. "I may be a bit .. sluggish .. when it comes to realizing certain things but I did not miss the fact that Daria kinda looks like me." That sentence made sure Cordelia would not fall asleep anytime soon.

"Now that you mention it.." Cordy mumbled. "..she does look a bit like you."

"I got pretty upset when I saw the two of you together. It felt like you were mocking me you know? Out in the open. I-i know you didn't mean it that way.." Buffy said but trailed off.

"I didn't, I told you why we did all of that. And on top of that I had to do it to stay sane and I'm not kidding when I say that. I could not have gone through with acting like stuck up bitchy old Cordelia for another year and a half until graduation. This way I could even play out some fantasies of mine in a playful manner and people accepted it. You should have been there Buffy, it was electrifying, almost like in the coffee shop."

Buffy growled a bit a that. "That was anything but electrifying.. more like horrifying." She mumbled before realizing what she said, and to whom. "I-i'm sorry Cordy! I didn't .. mean it like that."

"No it's ok, it must have been .. difficult in your situation but for me it was so much more. You were mine, even more so then now .. in a way.. and it felt exquisit." Cordelia grinned as she recalled the day in her mind.

"W-what do you mean? More so then now? I'm right here in bed with you, and there is no silly excuse this time." Buffy added with a sheepish smile but Cordelia started to look uncomfortable. "Let's talk about that some other time ok sweetie? It's a bit complicated."

"Ugh now you made me curious, but alright, anything you want." Buffy leaned in and kissed Cordelia softly. There was a moment of hesitation before Buffy turned back around and snuggled with her back against Cordelia, mimicking the earlier position. "G-Goodnight Cordy."

Cordelia kissed her neck and held her close. 'She didn't ask me the question.. I wonder what's that is all about, I mean she was making such a fuss about it before. I should not push my luck tho, best leave it at that. There is simply too much she could ask me that would ruin this. "Goodnight sweetie."


	8. A Face in the Darkness

**Chase Manor, Cordelia's Bedroom**

Her breathing was almost inaudible, eyes were closed and her face lacked everything that made her who she was. _'It is like I'm watching a mask, a hollow shell that is waiting for her mistress to return. To be filled with energy, wants and needs, pride and compassion, fire and color... What about love? How much love is in there? Love for ones self, love for .. another. She has done so many amazing things already. Selfless and wondrous deeds that make everything I have done in my life pale in comparison and I'm the slayer. I have abilities past that of any human and yet .. she surpasses me in everything that matters.'_

Buffy's hand moved and fingers uncurled, eager to touch .. her, it didn't matter where. A lock of hair, a soft cheek, her graceful neck, anywhere as long it was part of that being that filled the mask. A fingertip almost made contact but dreaded the possibility of waking her and at the same time that's everything she wanted. To have her here, to see eyes flutter open and sparkle at the sight of the one who turned her live around so much.

Tears flowed down a longing face before breaking free.. falling.

"B-Buffy? Hey.. sweetie what's wrong?" Cordelia woke, startled by something and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Buffy staring at her with such an intense look that it made her worry.

"Don't talk.. don't say anything nice..to me." Buffy croaked, her voice thick with emotion. "It's too much as it is." Cordelia could only nod, not sure what was going on but realizing it was very important. A finger made contact and more followed suit, they caressed her cheek so softly, so heartbreakingly slow that she almost didn't hear the words coming out of the mouth that was so close to hers. "You mean so much to me Cordy.. " Eyes bored into her. "It hurts, do you know that? Y-you know so much about me.. but do you know how much it hurts?"

"Buffy.."

* * *

 **Upper Floor, Guest Room**

Willow mumbled something as she started to wake up but Tara could not make out what it was. Then again Tara could not make out much at all, she had spent the night in a meditative state watching over the redhead and it was taking its toll.

"Oh.. good morning Tara, what spell are you working on?" Willow asked as she looked down to the mattress next to the bed where Tara sat.

"I'm not working on a spell, I was watching for something .. something that just happened." Letting out a long breath Tara started to loosen her muscles and slowly get up. "You want to guess what it is?"

"That sounded way to ominous and deep for this early in the morning, how about I try to find an answer after some coffee?" She smiled at the blond but was taken aback a bit when she was confronted with a way to somber face. "Umm .. or .. not."

Tara shook her head and started to stretch her body a bit. "Nevermind. Coffee sounds very good, I just need a minute to get this body working again." Willow nodded and got up. "You think they are awake already?"

"I know they are."

"Oh .. uh .. how?" Willow asked, curious how the blond could know.

"I felt something coming from the direction of their room, it was pretty intense so most likely not a dream."

"Felt? Huh? What kind of spell did you.."

"N-no spell Willow! Ugh.. " Tara glared at her. "I was not preparing a spell when I sat on the mattress and I did not cast a spell to spy on them!" She grabbed her things and stormed out the door.

"O..k... someone's grumpy in the morning." Willow mumbled, not really sure what this whole thing had been about.

* * *

 **The Kitchen**

"So I take it she didn't destroy half the mansion while we were asleep?" Buffy asked as she poured herself a coffee. Tara shook her head and yawned. "Nope, b-but it's good I kept watch, p-pretty much the first words out of her mouth when she got up were about spells this spells that." Cordelia walked up behind Buffy and draped her arms across the slayer before joining in on the conversation. "So what's the plan? You don't look like you can keep this up for long. We could watch her for a bit while you take a nap, if she does anything .. well .. magical we wake you up." Buffy nodded and leaned further back into Cordy's embrace.

"Y-yes that sounds good. Oh .. I-i .. umm kinda told Willow about you guys yesterday.. sorry." Tara ducked her head as she looked over at them. "I wasn't sure if it's really my place to s-say something but it kinda slipped out.. b-but from the looks of it she w-would have noticed soon anyway eh?" She pointed towards them with a teaspoon.

Buffy was about to move out of the embrace, shocked by the fact that Tara knew, but Cordelia held firm.

"She would have noticed what?" Willow asked with a yawn as she entered the kitchen. Buffy's eyes went wide but Cordelia did not budge, muscles tightened ready to break the hold in an instant but.. nothing happened.

"Us." Buffy said with a small voice.

"Huh? Ugh I'm really not getting a break this morning huh? First cryptic Tara and now one syllable Buffy. Sorry guys I'm not much help in this shape." She beelined for the coffee machine.

Tara's left eye began to twitch. "I better take that nap or I might strangle someone." She mumbled and walked off.

"Did she tell you guys anything about this morning? She got upset with me for something."

"Willow?"

"Yes?"

"Willow.."

"Yes?! Buffy what.." She turned around with an angry expression that fled her the moment she saw .. them. "Oh.."

"That is what you would have noticed anyway." Buffy said as she watched her friend drop two cubes of sugar on the counter next to her mug.

"Oh.. that's nice. I-i mean good, very good! F-for you! Yes, very good for you.. you t-two." She stared at Cordelia's arms.. around Buffy.

"Don't forget to breath Willow." Buffy tried lightly, not sure how her friend was going to handle this but from the sheepish look the redhead shot at her a second later it seemed to be alright.

"Yeah.. I heard that's good when it comes to the whole being alive thing and all. S-so yeah, wow you two.. I-i guess I should have know with the whole Daria thing."

Buffy squeezed Cordelia's arm gently and disentangled herself from the brunette. "Yes she .. did not take it so well. How about you? I mean past the shock and all, are you ok?"

"Yeah don't.. don't worry about it! I-i mean it's not like I'm in any position to judge anyone right? N-not that there is anything to judge about! Really.. I.. I'll just .. shut up now." She hung her head and Buffy came over to put her hand over Willows to calm her down. Buffy was about to say something but the moment her fingers touched Willows the redhead coiled her hand back as if stung. "Sorry!" Willow immediately tried to defend her action but the damage was done and she didn't know what she should say to fix the situation.

"Me too." Buffy mumbled and backed away from her again. "Hey Cordy, lets check if Tara is alright ok?" She quickly took Cordelia's hand and left the room with her. "Sure sweetie."

* * *

They walked in silence down the corridors, a thumb drew calming patterns over Buffy's hand and as she realized what Cordelia was doing she smiled up at her. "You are the best girlfriend ever you know that? O-or friend, or well .. whatever you are." Buffy felt stupid for bringing up that topic again this early.

"Girlfriend sounds nice." She replied "Wouldn't want you to go around introducing me as 'friend or whatever'."

Buffy's smile widened and she felt tears welling up again. _'I'm such a mess lately, but at least now they are tears of joy.'_ They were about to head up the stairs to the second floor when a voice echoed through their minds.

"Buffy! Wait!"

Startled Buffy looked around in confusion and saw that Cordelia was doing the same. "Did you.. hear that too?" She nodded and turned back towards the corridor they came from. "And I guess she did it." Willow came running at them, tears streaming down her face.

"Willow, sleep." Came a tired, grumbling voice from the second-floor railing. The redhead instantly fell to the ground and Tara mumbled something before heading back to the bedroom.

"Neat trick." Cordelia commented but Buffy shot an angry look at her.

"She might be hurt!" She hurried over and picked the limp witch up in her arms. "Looks like she is ok. Was that the failsafe Tara was talking about? But she wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"Well instead of simply catching up with us or yelling something she .. invaded all our brains.. so uh.. I think that qualifies as a naughty act in Tara's book." Cordelia said with a shrug. Buffy started protesting and defended the redhead but Cordelia lifted her arms in mock surrender. "You should really take this up with Tara. Well maybe not now or she puts you to sleep too." Cordy added with a grin, earning yet another glare.

"Why do you care anyway, you remember what she did don't you? And I don't mean the thing in the library either, more like the other thing just 2 minutes ago." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well.. yeah .. but she was just confused is all, didn't you hear her voice? She was in pain, she was sorry, I felt it!"

"She can be sorry all she wants, I'll send Maria to buy me a tranquilizer gun next time she is out shopping." Cordelia grumbled before looking over to the slayer with an apologetic smile. "Sorry.. it's just that .. she keeps messing up and you give her way too much credit. I don't want you to get hurt ok?"

"Like me." Buffy mumbled quietly.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Nothing, let me take care of Willow, I'll bring her to your room and have a talk with her in private. I don't want to ruin our friendship just because of a misunderstanding ok?"

Cordelia nodded and touched Buffy's arm before walking off. Buffy sighed and looked down at the redhead in her arms. 'You are just like me Willow, we both keep messing up no matter how hard we try or how good our intentions are. But I won't let that ruin our friendship.'

Buffy slowly made her way up the stairs, careful not to let anything hit Willow when she noticed that the redhead was not as limp as she was supposed to be in this state. So she stopped and looked at her face. One eye opened only a fraction just to be closed again instantly and Buffy started to grumble.

"I can explain?" Willow said with a sheepish smile but Buffy was already about to put her down. "No!" The slayer hesitated. "Please Buffy, c-could you .. just a bit longer." She shrugged and lifted the redhead back into her old position. "So I take it you don't really have a problem with me touching you now that you .. know. Why did you act like that in the kitchen?"

"I-i kinda panicked, hence all the babbling. Cordelia staring at me did not help either. So I guess I was .. just .. you know making sure she would not get jealous or something."

"Wow.. that has to be the lamest excuse you ever came up with Will." Buffy smirked. "And we all remember the milk incident from a few weeks back huh?"

The redhead blushed and buried her head deeper into Buffy shirt. "Umm.. yeah."

"Well here we are." They stood before Cordy's bedroom door and Buffy let Willow's legs slide down the floor. "Um Will I think your upper body was supposed to detach along with your legs." But the redhead kept clinging to Buffy.

The reply came a few seconds later and not in the form the slayer had suspected. She felt.. something happening, in her mind, like before when Willow spoke to them, but this was different. "Will?"

She saw a smile appear in front of her, a sad smile, Willows smile, freckles and everything, floating in front of her in stark contrast towards the void of black that now surrounded them. "Yes." Answered the smile. "This is me, all of me." Green eyes gleamed and waves of red hair frame the face. "I'm sorry.. I'm always so sorry.." Emotions whirled around the floating face towards Buffy and the slayer knew. She knew about the reasons for Willow's spells, she knew about the awkward tension between them that came up now and then, she knew .."

"This is too much! Willow? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you showing me?" Buffy had sunk to her knees, overwhelmed by this flood of information and raw emotions.

The face looked down at her with a sorrowful mourn. "Because it no longer matters, I have waited too long, done too much wrong, they will kill me you know? I'm already leashed, soon to be caged again and once they realize I will not change back they will kill me.. He will have to kill me. The council will agree, Tara will keep me bound and he will find a way to end me."

"No!" Buffy yelled into the darkness. "No Willow! They would never do something like that, you are no demon, you are human! Yes you may have done some .. questionable things but it's alright! I forgive you for that, they will not harm you for that."

"Oh Buffy.." The face sighed and the slayer could feel it, the warmth of Willow radiating towards her. The deep yearning for friendship, for contact, for more.. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me Buffy, everything I'm becoming is because of you, because you showed me who I could be, that it is ok to be different."

'Just like Cordy.' Buffy thought for a moment and the face in front of her fractured, only to form something else instead. It was Buffy holding Cordelia tightly around the arms, but it was not really Buffy, it was a horned beast of rage.

 **SNAP** and the image shattered again.

"I am sorry Buffy.. always sorry.. I did not mean to show you that." The face said as it gave itself form again. "But yes I know about it, about that room, that day, of what you did and I am here, just like you. Both struggling for control of themselves against something powerful, something deadly and yet beautiful, something dark."

Twin green globes focused her, staring with an intensity that defied reason. "I know who I am now and this power in me will not control that! I will tame it, make it mine and use it for good. To fight beside you, to help you in your struggle against the beast in you. Together we can achieve anything Buffy!"

The darkness shifted and the face with it. "She is coming! Please Buffy don't let them kill me! I know who i am! And now you know too, make them believe, pleease! I am so sorry.."

Light flooded the darkness and something screamed.


End file.
